On December 19, 2022 the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). It has 23 targets that the world needs to achieve by 2030.
In 2020 the 20 Aichi Targets for the decade were not met either. So countries would need to ensure success this time round considering that the pandemic took two years away from conservation efforts.
Representatives of 188 governments agreed on the framework needed to arrest the ongoing loss of terrestrial and marine biodiversity. This includes conserving at least 30 percent of all land and water on Earth by 2030 and shrinking subsidies for activities that harm nature, such as industrial fishing. It also requires rich countries to pay developing nations $30 billion a year by 2030 for conservation.
Even though the framework is not legally binding, the countries will monitor and report every five years or less on a large set of indicators related to progress. The CBD will combine national information submitted by late February 2026 and late June 2029 into global trend and progress reports.
Within a Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, delegates have agreed to establish a multilateral fund for the equitable sharing of benefits between providers and users of digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI), which will be finalized at COP16 in Türkiye in 2024.
“By the next CBD COP in 2024, governments have a lot of homework to turn these agreed goals into actions at home. And have no doubt that the growing movement for nature protection, the charities, non-profits and indigenous peoples will keep governments to these promises,” Li Shuo, global policy advisor, Greenpeace China.
